The pan-African magazine of choice since 2009
Business
Africa’s economies have been battered by external shocks over the past three years, and several countries are in debt trouble. That gives governments a dilemma: Austerity measures can help attract foreign investment that improves the economy, but at the price of raising the cost of living and provoking popular backlash. Menzi Ndhlovu and Ronak Gopaldas …
Kenya Airways carried more than 5 million passengers in 2019, but lost more than $300 million in 2020, as COVID-19 curtailed travel. It wasn’t the first time Kenya Airways, like many larger carriers, needed a government bailout. Air travel is a crucial service, but in Africa, it might be more sustainable to have a few …
The African Continental Free Trade Area was supposed to go into effect on January 1, 2021, but more than a year later, no trading under its provisions has happened. AfCFTA’s top official says it takes time for nations to reach complex agreements to cover more than 8,000 categories of products, as well as informing small …
False start for the African Continental Free Trade Area Read More »
After trying to ban cryptocurrencies, Nigeria’s Central Bank launched its own digital currency, the eNaira. It immediately proved popular in a country where many people have used cryptocurrencies for cross-border trade or remittances. But it is not an economic panacea: It won’t end Nigeria’s foreign-exchange volatility or stem the devaluation of the naira. Doyin Olagunju …
Like many African cities, Accra has grown rapidly over the last few decades, and it’s experiencing a construction boom in the city center. But most of the housing built is far too expensive for the majority of the people, who work in the informal economy and have incomes too irregular to get loans. The privatization …
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement went into effect on Jan. 1, after being signed by all but one of the continent’s nations and ratified by two-thirds of them. It is intended to stimulate Africa’s economy by eliminating tariffs and other barriers to intracontinental trade, creating one market for 1.3 billion people. Yet getting it …
The use of Internet-based “cryptocurrencies” such as bitcoin, which in the West are considered too risky for general use, is growing in African countries such as Nigeria, as people find them a convenient way to transfer money across borders. Alexis Akwagyiram and Tom Wilson report. A few months ago, Abolaji Odunjo made a fundamental change …
Oil drilling in Angola came to an unprecedented halt in April, as plummeting prices caused major foreign companies to suspend production. The loss of revenues in Africa’s second-largest oil producer could thwart President Joao Lourenço’s plans to reduce severe poverty among the country’s 32 million people. Noah Browning and Libby George report. The coronavirus pandemic …
Because of the havoc wreaked by the Covid-19 pandemic, African countries want a blanket moratorium on all debt service to the continent’s creditors. As expected, the creditors are not agreeable. But in this commentary, Rodrigo Olivares-Caminal urges both the lenders and investors to understand that time is of the essence and that breathing time is …
How Africa can bridge the financing gap post-coronavirus Read More »
Nigeria’s government is promoting a “Made in Nigeria” agenda, with strides made in the local production of shoes, which is reflected in the success of companies like Bata Nigeria. And with each drop in the reliance of import purchases, there is an equal rise in national pride. Two men in gray jumpsuits brush glue onto …
Nigeria’s local shoemakers bask in national pride Read More »